CRYPTOASSETS PROVIDE A GATEWAY TO INVESTING FOR A NEW GENERATION IN ASIA

New data released by global multi-asset investing platform, eToro shows that the crypto boom has helped to create a new generation of investors across Asia. The majority (73 percent) of new investors joining eToro globally in 2017 and 2018 purchased crypto. Of these investors, more than one in ten (11 percent) have since gone on to invest in other assets including stocks, commodities and forex alongside their crypto investment.

The data has shown that this trend was largely matched in China and more widely in Asia. In China, 12 percent of new investors went on to invest in other assets after crypto, while across the remainder of Asia the levels were at 11 percent.

Globally, the move to invest in other financial instruments alongside crypto is particularly prominent in the younger generation, with nearly half (44 percent) of all those diversifying aged between 25 and 34. In China and more widely in Asia, 51 percent were in this age bracket. The data also showed that China and APAC led the way in terms of new female investors joining the platform, with women making up 16 percent of traders on eToro in China, and 14 percent across the rest of Asia, compared to a global average of 8 percent.

Paul Familiaran, Head of Southeast Asia Region, eToro, said: “Regardless of whether you believe in the long-term opportunities provided by crypto, it has been an essential entry point for investors in Asia and all around the world. Crypto has captured the interest of a new demographic of traders in Asia that would otherwise not be investing in our view. In China and more widely across Asia, this has also translated into a significant proportion of female investors signing up to eToro and trying out trading for the first time.” Globally, the most popular asset class for crypto investors to try next was stocks, with one-in-three of these investors doing so.

In China, 35 percent chose to copy the activities of other eToro users as their second action, while 26 percent opted to trade stocks and 19 percent traded commodities. In the rest of Asia, investing in stocks was the most popular next action for investors (36 percent), with 25 percent opting to copy activities of other traders.

Paul Familiaran continued: “For many, investing has been seen as the preserve of the wealthy and/or something that is too complicated for the average person to take part in. Crypto has changed this. Across Asia, there are now people investing that would otherwise not be, which marks a positive shift in investor behaviour. By making sure people can access all the assets they want to own in one place, we can encourage a new generation of investors to take more control of growing their wealth with a diversified portfolio of investments, including crypto and also through replicating other traders’ portfolios via copy portfolios.”

The data also showed that those buying cryptoassets held their positions for longer than other asset classes. Globally, crypto positions lasted 71 days longer than the next longest- held asset, ETFs, which could indicate a belief in the long-term investment opportunity offered by cryptoassets.